Phoenix Suns Steve Nash stands next to head coach Alvin Gentry in the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York City on January 17, 2011. The Suns defeated the Knicks 129-121. UPI/John Angelillo
The Phoenix Suns have stuck to their no-trade stance with regard to Steve Nash, Marc Stein reports.
Here’s Alvin Gentry’s take:
“The only reason you would ever even remotely consider trading Steve is if he came to you and said, ‘I think I need to move on somewhere,’ ” Gentry says. “That would be the only reason. But to us, making that decision to trade him, I don’t see why we would even think about it. You guys can keep talking about it, but we’re not going to trade him. He’s playing at such a high level. Why would we?
“How you gonna get value for him? Unless you’re gonna go get Deron Williams or Chris Paul or somebody like that, tell me how. Why do we have to bottom out to rebuild our team? I don’t see why you would want to bottom out and spend the next five years trying to get good again.”
So Gentry’s position is that you don’t trade Nash unless he gets to the point where he comes to the team and says that he wants to move on. But Nash is a throwback NBA star…
“Maybe I’m old school,” Nash said, “but I signed a contract to play here and I want to honor it. I feel like I owe it to my teammates and the city and everybody to keep battling until they tell me it’s time to go.”
…so he’s not going to ask for a trade even if deep down he’d rather play for a contender.
Gentry asks how the Suns would get value for him. A few days ago, I outlined three different trade scenarios that would help the Suns rebuild. Gentry wonders why a team has to bottom out, but what’s going to happen when Nash eventually retires? Of course you aren’t going to get a player of Nash’s caliber in return, but the point is to get a younger asset or two (and/or draft picks) that will help the team in five years, when Nash is retired.
Team president Lon Babby is of the same mind:
“I don’t see how it makes any sense for us to move him,” Babby said. “I know that people think we ought to look to the future. And we’re doing that. But if you look at the history of the teams that have sort of blown it up, as the expression goes, how successful have they been in recapturing [elite status] and how long does it take?
“I’m willing to put more faith in Grant Hill, Steve Nash and the players that we have than I am in a lottery ball,” Babby continued. “It’s easy to say blow it up, but show me the teams that have successfully done it and how long it took and how much luck was involved, because luck’s involved in everything. I don’t want to depend on fortuity. I’d rather depend on a two-time MVP.”
So because there’s luck involved in rebuilding a team shouldn’t do it? At some point, the Suns aren’t going to have any choice — Nash will retire and they’ll have to try to get good again. Isn’t that easier when you have a couple of extra good young players to build around?
To answer Babby’s question, the Magic were 21-61 when the won the lottery and drafted Dwight Howard. They were a 50-win team four seasons later. The Seattle Supersonics were 31-51 the year before they drafted Kevin Durant, and they were a 50-win team three years later. The Cavs were 17-65 the season before they landed LeBron James and they were a 50-win team three seasons later. Sure, those teams were fortunate to get those players in the draft, but it’s a lot easier to find a superstar at the top of the draft than it is at the bottom of the lottery.
The bottom line is that the Suns are going to be mediocre as long as Nash is playing, because he’s that good. But by taking this “no-trade” stance, they’re only delaying the inevitable. They’re going to bottom out eventually, and by holding onto Nash they won’t have the young assets to rebuild quickly and efficiently. By trading him now they’d give him an opportunity to play for a contender and by getting a few good young pieces they would increase the chances that the rebuilding process won’t be a long and painful one.
Trading away the face of the franchise is a tough thing to do, but Nash deserves to play for a contender, and the Suns lost that status when Amare Stoudemire signed with the Knicks last summer.
